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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Other - Advertising & Marketing |
Do you think branding is important or matters? |
Please say why? There is no question ALL business needs to brand themselves both large and small. Lets take a small business for example which offers Interior Design. As a consumer shopping for an interior design firm, would you even think about spending thousands with someone who's website was their myspace page, business card was a napkin, and no consistent brochure material? Branding is not just brand recognition but shows credibility to clients. It shows clients that you're committed to handle yourself like the national firms. Without branding, you'll starve. As far as the answer which said brands like Coke and Mc'D need only need branding think about this. Mc'Ds was once a small hamburger stand which worked to create a different hamburger experience for their clients. Mariott Hotels, same thing. THey were once a hot shop for quick foods. They were known for their soup and sandwiches. Branding was the reason these companies grew, not a result of what they've become.... Of course, depending on the market you have to differentiate your products from the rest of the products out there. Check this site, it explains why. http://articles.directorym.com/branding-... Yes. People look for brands and have associations for brands. People like a known thing. A smart marketer can create positive attributes for a brand. Non-branded items do not sell well at all, in any category. well at some place brand is important while at others substance of the product (what you called matter). If product is opaque, you need a brand (like you can't percieve or judge the quality of car with your senses and we even don't have the ability to do so, hence we ned brand. otehr examples may include, running shoes, computer, tea, coffee, and numerous other things) and if product is transparent you don't need a brand (like in vegetable, you can percieve and differentiate with your senses that it is fresh or not. other examples may include, flour, sugar, printing paper, pulses, and there are several other mundane things) and in services the presence of brand reduces eh percieved risk (how would you know that the barber you are visiting for the first time will give you good hair cut?) www.biksy.com I think branding is especially important for nationally-recognized products, like Coke or Pepsi. Just hearing those names immediately brings to mind what the cans look like, what each tastes like and an emotional reaction: "I prefer Coke" or "I prefer Pepsi". People will order a Coke; and, when they are told that the restaurant only serves Pepsi products, the person will say, no thanks to the Pepsi and choose something else. (Most people I know prefer Coke, which is why this example.) Branding would actually not apply or be beneficial to a small business. No one "knows" when they hear your company name what you do, what you provide, or who you are. In order to get more business, you'd need immediate results based on your advertising. So your advertising actually has to be "in more detail" as to who you are, what you provide and how you do things. When someone mentions "Coke" you already have things associated with it. But if you say "Joe's Restaurant", that doesn't speak immediately to the consumer. So what? "Joe's Restaurant"? Never heard of 'em. But mention McD's or Wendy's, and you get a picture of what to expect in your head. The reason the branding wouldn't work with a small, local business is you'd have people coming into and out of the area all the time, and there are usually so many other businesses like yours, word of mouth becomes important to distinguish you from the crowd. That's why so many companies that do roofing or siding put up a sign in the yard of a house they are working on or just finished working on. You get an immediate idea of what that company does and what level of expertise to expect based on that one sample. But not everyone drives by that house. So, you put an ad on TV or in the Yellow Pages that would attract customers based on what you can provide for them. Nationally-known products don't have to do that, because they can take advantage of "branding": everyone already knows what to expect from that company. So, I think branding is actually important for a national company. If you can get someone who's watching TV to immediately know who you are and what you do and how well you do it -- just by mentioning your company name -- then you don't have to do anything really except remind people you're there and come up with witty and special ways to get people to see your name in a positive light. Take Geico for example. They have the "cute" and "funny" gecko and the "so easy a Caveman can do it" ads. It gets people to immediately associate Geico with low cost auto insurance. Now they are using the Geico gecko to explain that Geico covers boats and motorcycles. If they didn't have that cute ad and if I didn't already associate positive thoughts with Geico's gecko, then I wouldn't remember that information. Well, I remember it, 'cause the ad was so cute. So, in a nutshell, branding can really matter and be important to a nationally sold product or service, but it would not help or be important for, a small business. http://www.zeromillion.com/marketing/ban... |
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